


Hope Is The Thing That Burns

by musicin68



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Feels, Multi, Post-Season/Series 03A AU, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2018-09-24 20:13:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9784340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicin68/pseuds/musicin68
Summary: Once upon a time...Regina was trapped in the Enchanted Forest far from the one person she loved above all, a witch was out to get her, and Emma and Henry thought all that stuff was just a fairy tale. Then someone dropped a flying monkey on them and everything was different.AU adventure begins during "New York City Serenade" and continues to follow what might have happened during that missing year if I had written it. Various POV, Regina centric (if a character is a major part of her life they will most likely be featured). Pairings still to be determined...there will probably be a little of OQ, SQ, and maybe DQ. Great, now I want ice cream.





	1. Not Enough

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy, whoever you are!
> 
> Required disclaimer? Once Upon A Time doesn't belong to me. There are a few lines borrowed from the show at the very beginning of this chapter to give you a jumping off point and I suppose there may end up being a few more sprinkled in just because they're that good...or they make sense in the story. Anyhow, whatever's left belongs to me.
> 
> FYI, there will be definite differences (aside from the fact that the story is AU and moves off of the show's timeline quickly) that you may or may not notice. For instance in my world, Robin Hood's a damn good shot--he doesn't own a bow that never misses. So if he says he never misses, he's just being cocky. 
> 
> Also, I have no beta so I apologize profusely for typos and the like.

   

“ _We have to find cover!_ ” Snow’s voice rose and her eyes widened in panic.

Regina glanced at the sparse undergrowth of the ancient forest. The trees stretched high into the sky above them, but there wasn’t much in the way of cover on the ground. She gritted her teeth. “ _I don’t run from monsters. Monsters run from me._ ”

A ball of fire sprang forth in her palm as she swept her cloak aside and took aim. She threw, but the creature dodged, diving towards them like a hawk. The flaming missile splashed ineffectively against the dark green canopy above them. Before she could do anything more than duck she felt a vise grip on her forearm, and with a flurry of beating wings Regina was born aloft.

She could hear Snow screaming her name as she tried to twist out of the thing’s hand. And it was actually a hand, she thought, though it was definitely not human. Snow made a leap fueled by desperation, her hands tangling in Regina’s dress. For a moment they were both airborne. Regina gasped as the fabric of her sleeve tore, a wicked talon slicing open her skin, and then they were falling.

Snow recovered her voice first, winded from the impact. “ _It’s too fast!_ ”

“ _I’m open to other suggestions_ ,” Regina moaned before climbing to her feet. The winged freak was circling for another pass; she pulled Snow to her feet. “Run.”

“What? I thought—”

“Stop asking stupid questions and run, Snow!” Regina’s face contorted in exasperation bordering on anger. Snow White didn’t press her stepmother further. She ran. Regina was not far behind. Flames leapt into existence in her hand once more. Though it was still above the canopy of the trees, she could hear the beast closing with her. It was fast, but was it fast enough to dodge her spell at point blank range? Closer, she thought and slowed a bit. A screech from above and the beast dove again; Regina spun around to meet it. As she did she felt her arrow ward go off. Someone was shooting at her! She twisted further around in an attempt to avoid the incoming fire, a strangled cry escaping her as the arrow still managed to open a wide gash along her shoulder. The arrow continued it’s path, piercing the wing of the creature. Regina forced the flames still burning in her uninjured hand squarely onto the stunned thing’s chest and the stench of burning flesh filling the air. It howled in anger and pain.

Regina stumbled backwards over a root as a second monster dropped from the sky, responding to the call from it’s brethren. Lightning-like pain exploded in her arm and down through the left side of her chest as the newest threat grappled the bicep of her injured arm, hauling skyward. The world narrowed briefly and Regina fought the urge to pass out. The thing pulled and pulled. She was higher this time, and every moment that passed meant a farther fall. She snarled. If she was going to go she was taking one of these damned things with her. Crying out in agony she twisted up and grabbed a handful of fur. Flesh began to dissolve under her touch. The creature shrieked and tried to drop her. Regina swung wildly from it’s leg as they began to spin towards the ground. A thick tree branch caught her upside the head and she lost her grip, plummeting the rest of the way to the forest floor. She landed heavily. Her head was spinning and everything she could see was doubled. She pulled herself up on one arm. A man was running towards her. A man with a bow. She threw up an arm and he was flung violently backwards. She heard his impact with a tree more than saw it and managed to rise to her knees.

Blackness was creeping into her vision, steadily swallowing daylight. She allowed belatedly, that in trying to kill the second beast she had perhaps spent too much of the precious little energy she had recovered after reversing the dark curse. With the last of her strength she pulled her hands in, palms together, like a prayer and then thrust them outward. A ripple of magic accompanied her gesture and two words. Then with a moan Regina surrendered to the darkness.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

 

Snow heard Regina’s scream in the woods behind her and staggered to a halt. Any sight of the sorceress or the monster hunting them was obscured by the rolling terrain. Regina hadn’t been that far behind her, had she? Snow turned back, running in the other direction, “Regina! Where are you?” Panic was seeping into her voice.

Another cry, from above maybe? She looked around wildly. Mad, hissing shrieks of an animal in pain and then the sounds of a crash somewhere ahead of her. She was running again, but she wasn’t alone. A man dressed in forest green was running in the same direction. She wanted to ask who he was, but she couldn’t catch her breath. He outstripped her easily, his movements fluid over the uneven forest floor. She tripped and fell, hands in the dirt. Before she could rise she was lifted off her knees by a giant of a man. Where he had come from, she had no idea. She tried to get out a word of thanks, as her lungs fought to oxygenate her blood.

He was asking her something, but she couldn’t hear. The woods were suddenly silent and Regina’s voice was in echoing in her ear. “Snow White.” Sound rushed back in on her, and with it a strange pull. She needed to go somewhere, she didn’t know where, but she knew that if she started to move she could find her way there.

“Milady, are you alright?”

Snow turned to face her would be rescuer, “I’m fine, thank you.” she managed to get out between gasps. “I’m Snow White. My—” Stepmother? Former-adversary? Ally? What exactly was Regina to her now anyway? “—friend. My friend needs help.” Regina might fight it tooth and nail, but Snow would be her friend.

The man nodded and fell into step behind her as she followed the new internal compass that had resulted from Regina’s Calling. She broke into a run again as she crested a rise. “No.” The word was barely whispered. Regina lay on the ground unmoving, her dark dress spread about her like a shroud. “Regina!” she cried at the same time the man trailing her yelled, “Robin!” Snow stumbled forward and her skin broke out in goosebumps. She dropped to her knees next to the fallen sorceress. Snow could have cried with relief; Regina was breathing. Her hands shook as she moved aside the torn cloak. Blood covered Regina’s bare upper arm, Snow immediately began ripping the decorative ruffled fabric from her petticoat. Her singleminded focus was broken by the sound of voices.

“Milady, be careful!”

Snow turned to find four men dressed in the same dark green of the woods, ‘Please, I need your help. Water, bandages, anything.”

‘That’s the Evil Queen!”

A young man darted forward arm outstretched as if to pull her away. Snow flinched back, but to the surprise of all present before he could reach her he hit an invisible wall. He fell backwards and there was a ripple of purple color in the air arcing upwards over her head. “What—,” Snow began.

“She’s a witch too!”

“No!” Snow cried. “I didn’t do anyth—”

“She _claims_ to be Snow White,” came the voice of the large man.

“I am,” Snow said indignantly.

“Then why are you helping _her_?”

“She’s not, she—things have changed,” Snow pleaded. “She saved us,” she finished with a lump in her throat.

“Robin won’t wake,” came an accusation. “What did she do to him?”

“Are you sure it wasn’t the monster that attacked us?” Snow turned back to Regina and began binding the bleeding wound on her arm as best she could. Unshed tears threatened to mix with the seeping blood.

“Here,” came a gruff voice.

Snow turned to see an older man standing well clear of the of once again invisible wall.  He held out a pouch to her. She clambered to her feet and stepped forward to take it. Her skin broke out in goosebumps as she passed the invisible boundary again. “Thank you, I’m very grateful,” she gave him a weak smile.

He watched her carefully as she moved back towards Regina. Snow’s eyes widened as she passed the ward again. This time it was as if she was moving through water. She had to push through the shield. Though there was no flash of color. Snow had a sinking feeling that each time it would be harder, and that eventually she would be repelled as well.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Regina woke to darkness. She felt for her shield and tensed; the barrier had failed at some point while she slept. She really was weakened if it had not persisted. Then again she had had to make an exception for Snow, which had not been easy. There was light coming from somewhere near by, a campfire judging by the flickering quality. She let out a quick breath as spied her stepdaughter curled beside her, asleep. The girl wasn’t keeping watch, but at least she had come when called. Maybe she wasn’t incurably stupid after all.  Regina stifled a moan as she lifted her arm. Someone, Snow presumably, had cleaned and bound the arrow wound but the gash on her forearm had gone unnoticed, hidden as it remained under layers of heavy dark satin. She raised her other hand to seal the aching laceration and froze, the sound of an increasingly heated conversation reached her ears.

“We should kill ‘er while we ‘ave the chance.”

“You can’t kill her. She has to undo the curse she put on Robin. And what about Snow White?”

“She’s with ‘er isn’t she?”

Snow slept on, blissfully unaware, and Regina made a mental note to revisit the subject of Snow’s utter stupidity after she had gotten them out of this mess. Grabbing a hold of the slumbering princess, she pulled them in-between and away.

They appeared a foot off the ground and tumbled down in a heap together. Snow cried out in confusion. “What? What’s happening?!”

“Shut up,” Regina hissed. That had been hard. Too hard. She felt like an anchor had been holding her down. She had intended to take them miles from their previous location, but had managed only a few hundred feet. In addition to that, she was panting and shaking like she had tried to run a marathon. She was afraid to try again for fear they wouldn’t even make it out of the in-between. “They might hear you.”

“Who?” Snow asked, still too loudly for Regina’s liking.

“The people trying to kill us, idiot,” Regina whispered and got shakily to her feet. “Come on, they’re just beyond that rise.”

“No one is trying to kill us, Regina,” Snow continued in a normal voice as she dusted off her cloak.

Regina gaped at her. “I—I have never regretted _not_ killing you more than in this moment.” She couldn’t make out the expression on Snow’s face in the darkness, but she could well imagine the hurt puppy face that the younger woman wore so often. “If I had the strength, I would…”

Regina trailed off, as a man bearing a torch came into view. She postured, but her fireball wouldn’t come.

“Snow?” came a familiar voice.

“Charming!” Snow crowed.

“Is everything all right?”

“Everything’s fine,” she said with a smile Regina could now make out in the torchlight. “Regina’s awake.”

“Good. We need her help.”

Regina bit her tongue. She trailed behind them silently fuming. So, the voices she heard had come from their own party. Someone in this group wanted her dead and didn’t care about collateral damage. Like a fool she had begun to believe in Snow’s ridiculous insistence that they were all on the same side. She should have known those pie-in-the-sky delusions would come crashing down sooner rather than later. Now she had to worry about betrayal, injury, _and_ her sudden inability to cast magic that was second nature to her.

They walked past several groups of make shift tents before coming into an area well lit by fires. A lean-to had been thrown up over a man lying on a pile of furs. His dark green doublet had been removed and his quiver and bow lay piled near by, but Regina had no doubt who this must be.

Charming turned to Regina, “This is Robin of Locksley. He was injured during your fight with, well, whatever it was. We were hoping you could heal him. He’s the leader of a group of men who would make welcome allies.”

The Evil Queen scowled at him. “No.”

“Regina,” Snow wheedled. “Why not? Could you at least try?”

“He shot me,” she growled rounding on Snow.

Snow looked puzzled. “I’m sure it was some sort of misunderstanding. The others have been very helpful.”

“A misunderstanding,” she parroted. She looked angrily around at the people in the clearing. Some of the expressions facing her were downright murderous. So these were the people who wanted her dead, some of them anyway. “You’re serious?”

“Please, Regina,” Snow pulled her aside. “He’s a good man. You might be able to help him.”

“And if I can’t? What then?” Snow would never see it, that Regina would never be seen as anything other than evil. Her eternal optimism was so blinding it was a wonder the girl didn’t need a seeing eye dog.

Snow looked at her with that infuriatingly hopeful smile. “It’s not like we can take him to a hospital. The healer did what he could, but maybe magic…”

“Where are your fairies? They could make themselves useful for a change,” Regina huffed.

“We haven’t seen any of them yet,” Charming came over and put a hand to Snow’s back. “The curse didn’t exactly organize us well when we returned.”

There was a note of frustration in his voice. Was he blaming her for that too? “Fine.” Regina spun on her heel and stalked over to the prone figure. A giant of a man stepped between them, his arms crossed, refusing to give way. She glared up at him. “Why don’t you go find a smorgasbord that needs protecting.”

He bent his head, his expression one of worry rather than murder. “If he dies, I’m holding you responsible.”

“You and everyone else here, I’m sure,” she snapped back, pushing past him. He allowed her to do so, but continued to hover over her shoulder.

She knelt down and placed her hands on either side of the thief’s head. Her breath came out in a huff. She had a good idea of what had happened. She had thrown him away from her and if he wouldn’t wake he probably had a head injury. She frowned. Healing required so much more energy from her than conjuring fireballs and right now she couldn’t even manage that. She glanced up at the faces watching her and she hated them all in that moment. It was almost a relief. Hate was her old familiar ally. It was so much easier to hate than to deal with the pain of her loss.

She swallowed. Her loss. Henry was gone, and she would never see him again. Henry, who wanted his mother to be a hero, not the Evil Queen. She took a shaking breath and tried to let go of the anger, because taking the easy path, filling her heart with hate and darkness to drown out her suffering again, would have crushed him.

Regina closed her eyes to block out the stares. Tears she could not stop began coursing down her cheeks. She had nothing left to give, but she could take. It was reckless, dangerous magic, and for that it was easy. She could take this man’s injury. Part of her hoped she could manage enough control to redirect it, spread it out through her own body enough to avoid fatal consequences. Part of her didn’t care.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Robin moved silently through the woods. He and his scouting party were spread out in this area following the signs of a large group traversing the area. Rumors of dark magic had reached the Merry Men and Robin felt it was their responsibility to investigate. Since the Dark Curse had ravaged the Enchanted Forest they found themselves stepping into the role of protectors more and more. Robin stopped short as a shout reached his ear. He had an arrow nocked before he could think. A woman in white appeared, running for her life, and not far behind, all in black with fireball in hand, was a figure that had fueled the nightmares of many in the Enchanted Forest. The Evil Queen slowed briefly in her pursuit and her expression shifted from one of anger to one of concentration. Robin took aim.

The instant his fingers released the arrow he realized his mistake. A winged beast dropped from the sky, barreling towards her. He readied a second shot, this time he drew bead on the true threat. He held the arrow, fingers tensed, unable to find an opening. When the second creature joined the fray he let the arrow fly. The first went down in a heap and Robin paid it no further heed. He was moving to try and keep vision of the queen and her struggle with perhaps the second most terrifying dark thing he had ever seen.

It was trying to carry her away and he heard her scream half in frustration, half in agony. Still he could take no shot. She reached up and a lurid green glowed beneath her hand. The creature screeched and howled, but finally released her. The queen managed to catch it’s leg as she fell and they spun downwards into a tree. She let go and he let loose his arrow. It was a brilliant shot, the creature moving among the branches as it was. The arrow found it’s mark, buried almost to the fletching in the thing’s eye socket; killing it before it could even hit the ground. Then he was moving again. The small dark figure on the ground was trying to rise, but she was clearly hurt and in need of help. She looked up at him and the last thing he thought clearly was that even bleeding and disheveled on the ground she was shockingly beautiful. He opened his mouth to speak and then he was flying through the air and he knew no more.

Robin was brought back to his conscious self by a warm touch on either side of his face. It had been a slow, difficult transition. Not like being roused from a deep sleep; it was not the wakening that left you half in dream and unsure of reality. He was pulled. Pulled from a sucking nothingness into wakefulness arduously, as if he had been mired in quicksand. Almost as if he might never have woken again. But once he was awake his mind was clear. Soft, small hands held is head gently. Small hands, but too large to belong to a child, not his son then. Drops of warm water fell on his forehead. Tears, the thought coming to him in a flash of insight. The woman holding him was crying. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up turning so he could see, concern writ across his face.

She pulled away as soon as he started to move, a strange tingling left where her hands had been. And he caught a glimpse of the tear streaked face of the Evil Queen before she was hidden by the crowd of Merry Men rushing to his side.

“What—,” he began.

“Thank the gods of fortune, Robin. You gave us quite a scare,” relief doing nothing to lessen Little John’s booming voice.

“The Queen,” he tried again.

“Removed her nasty curse, thankfully,” came another voice.

“For goodness sake, step back you lot. Give the man some air.” A man in drab brown robes with a girth to match Little John’s impressive expanse, if lacking his fellow’s also impressive height, pushed through the small knot of men easily.

“Tuck, what happened? The Queen…is she all right?” Robin moved as if to stand.

The friar pushed him back onto the makeshift bed. “You’ll lay back down and rest now,” he said with a frown. “You needn’t concern yourself with her.”

“Why was she here?” he asked undeterred.

Tuck sighed, long suffering soul that he was. “She cursed you.”

“No, she didn’t—”

“And it was decided,” he continued with a glare at Little John, “that she ought to be given the _opportunity_ to remove the curse before we made her.”

“I want to talk to her now.” Robin moved again to stand, but Friar Tuck stood firm. “I need to apologize—”

“You’ll rest until we’re sure you’ll recover, Robin. Surviving a death curse is no trivial affair.” Robin paused at that statement. He didn’t feel as if he had survived a curse. He felt fine. Better in fact than he had in weeks. Even a strained muscle, the result of an overenthusiastic sparing match a week ago, seemed to have been miraculously cured.

Seeing Robin’s resolve Little John shifted uncomfortably, “I’ll see if she’ll come and see you.” The good friar’s glare pinned the larger man where he stood. “eh…in the morning.”

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Regina felt the man beneath her hands stir and she released him, standing uncertainly. Dizzy, she stumbled as she moved, but manage to keep to her feet. She just needed to get away.

“Regina,” she heard Snow call out behind her. “Regina, wait!” She ignored her. Just get away, away from them all before she looked any weaker in front of them. Past the tents. She tripped in the dark as the campfire light faded behind her, but managed to stagger on. Just a little farther. She fell to her knees and was immediately sick, bile burning it’s way up her throat. Snow was right behind her, dropping down alongside. She put out a hand, touching Regina’s back tentatively. She should have known the princess wouldn’t take a hint.

“Don’t touch me,” she managed to snap before vomiting again.

“What happened? Are you alright?”

Regina rolled her eyes and threw up a third time. “Fine, dear,” she choked out.

“You are not fine!” Snow said indignantly.

Regina would have liked to come back with a biting remark about the other woman’s command of the obvious but decided to concentrate on breathing instead. Her body continued it’s purge, but there was nothing left to bring up. Dry heaves racked her body.

She couldn’t see Snow’s face, but she could hear the panic welling in her voice. “I’ll go get help.”

“No,” she managed to gasp out. “There’s…nothing to be done.” The absolute last thing she needed was for anyone else to see her now. How simple a thing it would be for one of the peasants who wanted her dead to finish her off in her current state.

Snow bit her lip. “It’s because you helped Robin Hood.”

Regina wanted to laugh. She could hear Rumple’s maniacal giggle in her head. “All magic comes with a price.”

Though she would never say so out loud, the Evil Queen knew her stepdaughter wasn’t actually stupid, which, in Regina’s mind, made her usual actions all the more unforgivable. “I’ve never seen healing magic turn on the caster like this,” Snow pointed out.

“Must be my special brand.” Regina’s heaving had finally ceased. She made an aborted attempt to stand and move away from her own sick and ended up curled in a ball in the grass, brush and bramble sticking uncomfortably into her side. She didn’t care. Her heart was racing and with each beat she could feel the pressure building in her head. A treacherous whimper escaped her.

“Gods, Regina, did you know it was going to do this to you?”

“I suspected,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why in the world would you do it?”

“Henry,” she whispered.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Snow felt a pang of hurt, jealousy really. She tried to quash it. Regina truly loved Henry. In a way she would never love her stepdaughter. She reached around Regina’s chest and pulled the woman she had wanted so desperately for a mother away from the prickly brush. It felt like every muscle in Regina’s body was tensed in pain, her breath coming in ragged gasps now. Snow was surprised to find that old wound still so raw. Hadn’t she moved past this? She wasn’t a little girl anymore. And no matter how much Snow wanted it, how much she kept on hoping, Regina did not love her. She laid the Queen’s head in her lap.

It was selfish. Snow wasn’t naive enough anymore to think otherwise, but she had been once. As a spoiled and petted princess of ten she hadn’t understood how much her greed had hurt those she loved the most. Hadn’t realized what she was doing when Cora had made it so easy for her to betray Regina. She had only known that Regina’s love was magic and she had never wanted anything more. Had she changed at all? She had demanded that Regina stay with them. Was it really for her own good, or was it because Snow couldn’t let her go? They had both lost so much in their ongoing struggle.

She fought back tears. It wasn’t fair! She couldn’t have known what would happen, but still, it had been she that set them on a course of mutual destruction. Regina could never be called blameless, but deep down Snow knew that she wasn’t the innocent everyone made her out to be.

Now they were all hurting and broken but she had to have hope. They could still be a family, somehow. Regina’s breathing seemed to be evening out, but she did not respond when Snow said her name. “I’m sorry.” she said, half a whisper, half a sob. “I’m so so sorry.”


	2. Too Much

Regina wished that she had in fact died. Instead her survival was punctuated by the equivalent of a monstrous hangover. The morning had dawned bright and chipper, the forest full of happy, trilling little birds she would have gladly roasted if only she could have spared any energy at all. Her head still pounded and every movement she made threatened to bring up a breakfast she hadn’t been able to bring herself to eat anyway. Still, she supposed, it wasn’t unbearable pain or the annoying platitudes of her stepdaughter so it could be considered a step up from the previous night.

She wasn’t sure if Snow had spread the word that she wasn’t to be disturbed or if she still struck fear in the hearts of the peasantry, but either way she was grateful she had been left alone. She had made herself as presentable as possible under the  circumstances and seated herself on the remains on a large fallen tree. Normally she would be pacing, but just now it seemed better to stay still. 

Despite the lingering effects of her ill-advised attempt at healing the night before she was regaining some power. She had managed to heal the arrow wound on her shoulder but the other was causing her problems. So far she had only been successful in removing the sleeve of her dress, exposing the still oozing laceration on her forearm. Magic was not an inexhaustible resource, despite the common belief. The actual expression of power was more like a muscle. The more you exercised it the stronger it was, but it wasn’t indefatigable. And it had required a tremendous amount of effort to reverse the Dark Curse. Regina was feeling things out slowly and trying not to be too frustrated with the results.

She closed her eyes, raised her free hand and let the magic well up inside her. She could feel it tingling beneath her skin, but the cut stubbornly refused to yield. She dropped her hand into her lap in a huff. What was going on here? She had the power, why wouldn’t the damn thing heal?

Her patience was thinning rapidly and she was racking her brain. What was that beast? Were it’s claws venomous? She couldn’t think of a single creature that had a poison that would interfere. And her magic, obviously, had just worked on her shoulder. What was she missing?

She felt like she was just going in circles. She thought briefly about finding someone else to bounce ideas off of, but she’d be damned if she’d go crawling for help over something so simple. She could just picture the patronizing look on Snow’s face. Now that she thought about it, it was a wonder that Snow wasn't breathing down her neck right now. Since returning to the Enchanted Forest she had been there practically every time Regina turned around. The queen wondered if it was too much to hope that the girl had finally given up on her insistence that everything was going to work out and they’d all live happily ever after.

Regina’s happy ever after was gone. Henry was gone; he didn’t even know she existed. Despair swelled in her chest again and she clenched her teeth. Damn Snow White and damn the consequences. She thrust her hand into her chest only to pull it back out empty as someone cleared his throat behind her. She spun around in her seat to see who had snuck up on her, closing her eyes with alacrity as her movement made the world slide sideways. “What do you want?” she snapped out.

It was the archer. Robin of Locksley stood less than a stone’s throw away. “I apologize for disturbing you, Milady, but,” there was a pause and she hoped he had decided to leave. “You’re injured. Can I help you?”

She opened her eyes in shock, he was now sitting opposite on the great log next to her. She hadn’t even heard him move. She drew back slightly, but remained sitting. She was not about to give ground, never mind that she thought she was just as likely as not to fall down if she tried to stand. “I seriously doubt it. And it’s Your Majesty,” she spat.

“Of course, Your Majesty,” he said without even a hint of irony. “Would you like me to fetch a healer?”

Regina glared at him. “I’m dealing with it. Feel free to fetch whatever you like, just don’t bring it back here.”

“As you wish. I would not intrude, but there is the matter of an apology as well as a debt that I owe you.”

“You want me to apologize? You hit your head harder than I thought.”

“No,” he grinned in the face of her indignation. “I owe _you_ an apology.”

"Stop," she sighed. “Spare me your excuses; I’m not interested.”

“Very well, but you saved my life, and that is a debt I intend to honor.”

“Oh no. No.” She shook her head vehemently, setting off another wave of nausea. Her hands involuntarily tightened on the rough bark beneath her. “I do not do life debts.”

“I thought a simple thank you would suffice.” He had a kind smile, she thought absently, but his eyes were sharp and they saw too much. “Thank you.”

“Wonderful, you’ve thanked me. Now you can leave.”

His smile slipped and she recognized guilt as it flashed across his face. “When you were attacked by those creatures, I made a grave mistake—”

“I told you,” she cut him off, “I am not interested in your regrets. Being sorry doesn’t change the past,” she said, her gaze unflinching. “I should know.”

He was silent for a few moments. “Do you know what kind of beasts they were? Neither my men nor I have seen the like.”

Regina took a deep breath and her irritation slipped away from her. The thief was clearly not going to leave, and suddenly she was too tired to care anymore.

“No,” she said shortly. “But they seemed more intelligent than my usual adversaries.” Regina trailed off as she tried to picture the creature that had first attacked her and Snow. “It…it had hands, an actual opposable thumb…like a human.”

“I’m afraid you had a much closer look than I did. I couldn’t be certain of much more than fur, wings, and tail.”

“A tail? Hands and a tail. It was a monkey.”

“A monkey with wings?”

Suddenly Regina knew exactly what had gone wrong with her healing attempt. “Yes! That is exactly what it was, a flying monkey.” The wound wasn’t poisoned. It was spelled. She laughed darkly at the realization. “And where there’s a flying monkey, there’s a witch.”

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

“Well,” the queen regarded him, “you were helpful after all.”

Robin couldn’t stop a small smile creeping onto his face. She rolled her eyes and then turned her attention back to her bloodied arm. She whispered a few eldritch words and slowly moved her hand over the wound. Sweat broke out on her forehead, her jaw tensed, but slowly the gash began to glow purple and seal itself. She finished with a sigh of relief and her eyes drifted closed. He sat quietly, observing her. She looked tired, pale and drawn. He wondered how much it had cost her to heal him. He wondered why she had done it.

“Regina?” The voice of Snow White came from the trees and the queen sprang from her seat with a low sound and wavered on her feet. Robin was on his feet in an instant steading her. She froze at his touch, and he knew he had overstepped. Still, he lowered his arms slowly to make sure she did not fall. She drew herself up regally, her face guarded. “Regina! There you are!” Snow White and Prince James crested the hill. “Oh, and Robin Hood.” Snow looked back and forth between the two curiously and out of the corner of his eye Robin caught the queen’s scowl.

“Your Majesties,” he said with nod.

“Belle thinks she knows what attacked us, it was a—“

“Flying monkey,” the queen interrupted with a wave of her hand. “We know.”

“But she says they’re from OZ. Why would they be here?” the prince asked. “I thought reversing the dark curse sealed this realm.”

“You really are all looks and no brain, aren’t you shepherd? You don’t suppose they might have arrived here before I reversed the curse?” she pointed out.

“Then they’re trapped here with us?” Snow White asked.

“I didn’t say that.”

The prince frowned. “I thought you said that was the price. That we had to give up what we loved most. That we’d be trapped here, that there is no portal back.”

“I’m sorry, did you become a wizard when the rest of us weren’t looking? Have you been taking night classes in spell casting? An online course maybe?”

“No, of course I haven’t—”

“ _You_ didn’t have to give up anything. Emma chose to stay behind.” She swallowed, “for Henry.” She shook her head and continued angrily, “ _I_ can’t go back. As for you finding a portal, if it were so easy to travel safely to the Land Without Magic do you think Rumplestiltskin would have spent so long looking for a way to do it?”

“So we _can_ go back? We can find her.” He pointed to Snow White and himself, hope dawning in his eyes. “It’s been done before. Snow and Emma came back through the well.”

The queen pinched the bridge of her nose, pain on her face. “Idiot, there was already a bridge. They just had to find a way across it. Storybrooke is gone! The Dark Curse was an anchor that bound the realms together. All of them!” Robin saw her weight shift as if she had intended to move but changed her mind. Instead she threw her hands up in exasperation. “Gods, you have no sense of scale, no idea what it cost. I didn’t just wake up one morning and say, ‘today I think I’ll reorganize the fabric of our reality for spite’.”

He wouldn’t back down. “But…but you didn’t cast it to make a bridge, you cast it to punish us.”

“I’ll give you a pass on the first 28,” she bit out, “but you just spent the last year and a half living in Maine, half-wit. When Emma ‘broke’ the curse Storybrooke was _still_ there. All Emma did was destroy the part Rumple had to tack on so that I’d have any interest in casting it at all. The Dark Curse, the _real_ Dark Curse probably wasn’t even called that before he got his hands on it.”

“It was a spell of travel?” Robin asked quietly. He had no desire for the queen to turn her ire on him, but the prince seemed entirely oblivious to the fact that he was poking a sleeping giant.

The queen turned to him with a look of surprise, as if she had forgotten he was even there. Some of the tension bled off of her, but she quickly reasserted a mask of arrogance. “Not _a_ spell. _The_ spell. Plenty of magic allows travel between magical realms, but this,” she shook her head. “This punched a hole in reality and established a beachhead where no magic existed at all.”

A thoughtful frown appeared on Snow White’s face. The prince continued to press the queen single-mindedly. “We sent Emma through the wardrobe before you cast the curse. There was a way to get there then.”

“Then aren’t you lucky I did cast it, because without it you’d be in exactly the same situation as the Dark One. Stuck here, after the fairies arranged to ship off your child by airmail.” 

“Because of you!” he shouted indignantly.

The queen took an unsteady step forward, closing on the prince. “You’re either being deliberately obtuse or you truly are a fool. One person, maybe two have been able to cross that divide by powerful means that are few and far between, but without an anchor there is no knowing where _or_ _when_ you will come out.”

“You cast it before. If it doesn’t have to be a curse you could send the rest of us back…you owe us.”

The princess gasped. “David, that’s enough.”

“There’s only one way back to Storybrooke and I would never…” The sorceress’ voice broke and the next words came out low, her voice shaking with anger. “if you ask me to cast the Dark Curse again I _will_ kill you.”

Robin could feel the woman next to him practically vibrating. What was the point in pushing her to a breaking point? It could only end very badly for all of them. Prince James finally seemed to realize that there might be some danger here, but his fear manifested as bravado and he continued to posture, going so far as to loose his sword in its scabbard. “You’ve tried and failed to kill us before, Regina. You can’t frighted me with idle threats.”

She snarled and before anyone could react her fist was sunk deep into the stunned prince’s chest. She ripped his heart free.

“Regina no, don’t!” Snow White cried.

Robin watched her as one would a cornered animal, fighting the instinct to draw his dagger lest a sudden movement cause her to strike.

Her hand tightened and the helpless man fell to his knees. “I wanted to watch Snow suffer. If I had only wanted to kill you, you’d be long dead,” she hissed and then with a gut wrenching cry shoved his heart back into his chest. She stumbled backwards staring at the sky, her eyes rimmed with red. She slammed them shut, raised a hand and vanished in a puff of smoke.

“She’s too dangerous,” the prince wheezed as his wife helped him to his feet. “This is never going to work.”

The princess looked like she wanted to cry, her lower lip trembling. “You were testing her? We’re all tired and…and…heartbroken already. We need to be working together. How could you ask her that?”

“For our daughter, Snow. To bring our family back together again, I would risk anything.”

Robin found he could not stay silent. “I may speak out of turn, as I am an outsider to your family quarrels, but knowing the queen’s history I would say she showed an admirable amount of restraint.” Robin had a healthy skepticism of nobility, having been born into it and having spent a large portion of his adult life stealing from it. He knew that bloodlines conferred no wisdom, nor did they ensure responsible behavior, but even he was surprised at the prince’s recklessness. “If we are to be allies, I would ask that you refrain from intentionally provoking the queen. You are not the only ones here with families, and I am responsible for many lives.”

The younger man at least had the decency to look abashed. “You’re right; I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t thinking clearly. Regina has a way of getting under your skin.”

Robin nodded absently, seeing only the queen’s haunted face in his mind’s eye. Perhaps she was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is ...not what I originally intended for Chapter 2 and shorter than I like to post, but Charming picked a fight with Regina unexpectedly so this is what you get while I try and get things organized again.


	3. Monkey See

Regina appeared near the road they had been traveling the day before and sank to the ground clutching her aching head. Had she really just done that? The Idiots were always irritating, but she hadn’t lost control like that in so long. She groaned in despair; she had been ready to kill Charming. She needed to face the truth, she could never be a hero. Her heart was dark and her actions proved it again and again.

What would Henry have thought if he had seen her? Maybe it was better that he was worlds away. He would grow up happy, happy with a mother who had never succumbed to the darkness. Happy without her. A sob escaped her. She couldn’t keep doing this to herself. It hurt too much.

But she was stuck here now. She could no more find her way back to her son than she could dismantle the laws of magic. And curse it all, Snow White was going to drag Regina along into the next chapter of this fairy tale, kicking and screaming, constantly reminding her of what she had sacrificed, what she had lost. The irony that the girl was her jailer once again did not escape her.

She thought briefly of the witch out there somewhere and her blood seeking monkeys. At least one of them, likely all of them, had claws enchanted so that a wound would continue to bleed. A small scratch like hers was not such a worry, but a larger wound could mean death for someone unlucky enough to encounter them. Blood on such talons would stay fresh for weeks. There were any number of uses for someones blood in spell casting. Very few were beneficial to the donor. Perhaps when she was feeling stronger she would cast protections against the usual applications her blood could be put to, but that would require resources that were difficult to find and energy she could not muster.

She needed to find out what had happened to the creatures. Had they escaped or been killed? The thought of speaking to Snow or her ridiculous consort again so soon turned her stomach. There were others she could ask, the bookworm maybe or the old wolf. They, at least, could be depended upon to see the danger the group might face. But even that was not guaranteed. She had no allies here, only those who tolerated her and those who wished to kill her. There was only one person who had believed in her. No, she thought sadly, there were two. She had gained the unlikeliest of allies in Emma Swan. The much vaunted Savior, who alone among their acquaintance seemed to accept Regina as she was. Laughable as it seemed, she had actually been Regina’s friend.

She sighed and got slowly to her feet. Emma was as lost to her as Henry. Regina was alone. She would head back to the camp. She still had no desire to to speak to anyone in the Uncharming’s ragtag army but she supposed that being seen would keep Snow from hunting her down and trying to have another wonderful heart to heart.

 

The camp was almost broken down when she arrived. A few armed strangers in dark green clothing stood about impatiently, clearly being much more practiced at living in the woods than those who had most recently been residents of Storybrooke. She noted the dark looks in her direction and walked by, her face showing nothing.

A group of children were playing in the dirt, almost certainly banished by their caregivers so that they might get some work done. She watched them from a healthy distance, no point in alarming the rabble. Some she recognized from Storybrooke, at least one she did not, the youngest of the bunch. He laughed with abandon as he jumped up and chased the puppet around in a circle, his dark curls bouncing. She wondered if the bandits of Sherwood had been on the move when the two parties had intersected or if they were in the habit of bringing children along on patrol.

Tearing herself away, she went in search of Granny. She found the older woman, crossbow in hand, directing her conscripted lackeys in the breakdown of the cooking pit. “Widow Lucas, a word?”

The old woman gave a final instruction and then walked over with a frown. “Regina,” she acknowledged curtly.

“The creatures that attacked Snow and I yesterday, what happened to them?”

“Them? There was more than one?”

“Yes, there were two.”

The older woman gripped her weapon tighter, involuntarily glancing at the skies. “Robin Hood killed one. No one said anything about another one. You’re sure there was a second?”

“I’m sure. Pass the word, everyone should remain on guard until we reach the palace.”

The old wolf narrowed her eyes, “Why are you telling me rather than Snow White?”

Regina scoffed. “I’ve had my fill of useless platitudes for today.”

“She wants to help you.”

“She’s wasting her time. I don’t want her help.”

“So then, you’ll just shut yourself off from her forever.”

“Watch me.” Regina turned to go.

“You’re just as selfish as you’ve always been. I thought maybe your boy had changed that.” Granny shook her head at the retreating Queen.

The sorceress turned back around, eyes flashing. “I beg your pardon?” How dare she bring Henry into this?

Granny bristled in return. “You’re hurting, and you’re so stubborn you won’t accept help when it’s offered.”

“And how exactly is that selfish?” she bit out.

“The last time you got hurt you took it out on the entire realm,” Granny growled. “Find someone else if you won’t talk to Snow. For the sake of everyone in the kingdom you need to suck it up and get some help before you do something we’re all gonna regret.”

Regina stood paralyzed and staring as Granny stomped off. The old woman was right: she was a danger to all of them. Hadn't she just proven that this morning? She thought about the counseling sessions in Storybrooke with Hopper. Maybe they had helped, allowed her to make changes she couldn’t have alone. But she had done it for Henry, not for these people.

She couldn’t run from this. Rumplestiltskin’s voice whispered in her ear, the darkness likes how you taste, dearie. She would only end up hurting someone when it inevitably consumed her. There was only one solution, she thought bleakly, curse herself before she cursed anyone else. She let out a shuddering breath as she realized what had to be done, but the next inhale felt almost like relief. Making a plan, even a self destructive one, was better than drifting aimlessly in a sea of despair. She would put herself under a sleeping curse where she would be a threat to no one. And if she were to wake, it would be to the one person she actually wanted to see.

 

By the time the rest of the group was ready to move out the sun was high in the sky. As the day wore on stragglers, marshaled by the cricket, joined the line of travelers until they were spread out over a considerable distance. The fairies had finally made an appearance and Regina made a point to avoid walking anywhere near them. She didn't trust the Blue Star as far as she could flick her and, with the exception of Tinker Bell, the rest of the lot could be counted on to be following Mother Superior’s orders.

Regina had seen Snow and Charming near the head of the column, but aside from being on the receiving end of a brief, grimaced smile from her stepdaughter, she had not interacted with them at all since her loss of temper. They would be at her castle soon though, and she would need to lower the shield to let them in. She would do what was required of her and then she would sleep. Rather than wait to be summoned she started making her way to the front of the group.

As she neared the barrier she could feel that something was wrong. There was magic here of course, but it wasn’t only hers. Someone had piggybacked onto her spell and it was just different enough from her own that it grated like a note played flat. She gritted her teeth against it and reached out to touch the barrier. A shockwave of green rippled outward from her fingertips and she had to fight the impulse to pull back, her hand burning. She would not look weak in front of this group. Slowly she brought her hand down hiding it in the folds of her dress. It was still her spell, but it had been twisted to someone else’s purpose.

“Is everything alright, Regina?” came Snow’s tentative voice.

She turned to the gathering crowd. “No. Someone’s been tampering with my spell.”

Charming clenched his jaw as if he had to physically restraining himself from speaking. Perhaps he had learned something.

“Who?” Snow asked.

“I can’t be sure,” Regina admitted. “But the safe bet is on the witch doing a Jane Goodall impression.”

“OZ, flying monkeys, of course there’s a witch. What does a dwarf have to do to catch a break around here?” Leroy asked.

Charming finally lost his internal battle. “What did you do to her?”

Regina looked askance at him. “Nothing. I’ve never met her.” He shook his head in disbelief. Despite her earlier exasperation, she found knowing that her time stuck in his company was short helped dull her temper. She held up a hand to forestall further questions. “Before you ask, it may take me a little time, but I _will_ find a way through the spell.”

Robin Hood spoke up. “In the meantime, I can offer shelter in Sherwood. It isn’t far and you will not be easily spotted there by the witch’s beasts.”

Snow smiled. “Thank you.”

Regina stood motionless amid the flurry of activity that broke out around her. She stared unseeing at the barrier. She had to get into the palace. Her newly hatched plan depended on ingredients that would be extremely difficult to come by in the wild. More so because every time she was out of sight Snow White hunted her down. Speak of the devil. She turned from the barrier and her stepdaughter fell into step beside her.

They walked in silence for a time.

Snow cleared her throat. “I want to help.”

Regina sighed. “Help with what, exactly?”

“Getting into the palace. When I was a girl, I remember overhearing servants talking about ancient catacombs that ran beneath the castle. If they still exist, we might be able to use them to get in.”

Regina nodded. “They do exist. But they’re sealed with magic. Blood magic. You won’t be able to get in.” She sighed knowing what Snow would say as soon as she uttered the words, “But I can.”

“We can go together.”

Regina shook her head. On no account would she take Snow into the palace with her. “My best chance is alone. If I have to worry about keeping you safe I’ll be distracted—” she trailed off as a flicker of movement above them caught her attention. Eyes on the sky, she missed the flicker of a smile that crossed Snow’s face. “They’re back.”

Snow had her bow out and loaded in a flash, and Regina had to admit she was grudgingly impressed that her old adversary hadn’t lost a step living in Maine. “I count two,” she said. Regina nodded.

Someone else had seen the creatures. Neal ran down the road shouting, “Incoming!” Others began to point and shout.

Regina looked up again at the two monkeys circling the group. They didn’t look like they were ‘incoming’, they looked like they were watching. “Whatever you do, don’t let them touch you,” she said to Snow.

The younger woman nodded, “We have to get these people under cover.”

Regina agreed, but knew no one was likely to follow her instructions. “I’ll keep an eye on them.” Snow began trying to marshal their people while Regina watched the sky.

 

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

 

Roland grinned. He was going to win Hide and Seek again. They had played it this morning and when the column of marching people had come to a halt the game had almost immediately recommenced. He had found everyone very quickly the last time and now that he was hiding he was determined to make it back to the circle without anyone knowing he had even moved by them. The new children tended to stand out in the forest and they were not very good at moving quietly. Plus, they wore such bright clothing. Like redbirds in winter, he thought, too easy to spot. Roland was proud that he didn’t need to stay in one place to be hidden. His papa had taught him how to move through the woods without making a sound and he had been practicing very hard. He wasn’t as silent as his father yet, but Uncle John said that in another year he’d be more useful to them than half the camp. He couldn’t wait to accompany his father when he went out with men to share the wealth; so he kept practicing.

He waited until he couldn’t hear the voices of the other children anymore before he began to make his way carefully toward the road. He had been so focused on his own silence that he didn’t notice the absence of the usual noises of the woods. Then there was shouting. He froze at the edge of the swale when he heard someone cry out. At first, he thought someone must have seen him, but the first voice was followed by others. People were shouting and running across the road. They were frightened. Roland decided it was better to find out what was going on than to stay unseen. He stepped out onto the road and called, “Papa?”

Before the sound of his call had even died away a huge creature had dropped from the sky, landing heavily in front of him. Roland knew he should run, but he couldn’t make his legs move, fear freezing him in place. The monkey-thing bent low bringing it’s face next to his, exposing sharp fangs as it cooed at him. Roland’s breath came faster and he looked down as it slowly raised a hand, it’s talons glittering menacingly. He heard his father shouting for him somewhere behind him, but still he could not move.

And then suddenly he was engulfed in darkness. It should have been terrifying, but it was the opposite. The gripping fear seemed to release him as his sight of the winged monster was obscured. A voice, rich and kind, spoke in his ear, “It’s alright. Just hold on to me.” He felt a hand settle gently on his shoulder and he clutched tightly to it. Without further warning it felt like he had spun himself silly and fallen to the forest floor, when the trees above him would turn madly as he lay still. The darkness cleared and he reached out to stop from falling over, his free hand coming to tangle in silken skirts. He stared dizzily into the face of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Jewels crusted her dress, sparkling like stars on the midnight dark fabric. Roland stared in awe.

The voice, her voice, spoke again, “Are you hurt?” She looked him over quickly as he shook his head dazedly. “Stay behind me.”

She turned and stood as a shriek split the air. Roland peered out from behind her to see what was happening, his hands still clutching her dress. The monster had knocked his father to the ground, pinning him in the middle of the road. Vines as thick as a man began springing from the road. Roland felt tears welling up, terrified all over again. He ducked his head back, as the woman above him spoke. The gentleness in her voice had disappeared, “You’re not getting away from me this time.” Roland couldn’t help it; he began to sob as he clung to her.

 

 

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

 

Robin heard the shouting and began jogging towards the road. He passed John on his way, “What’s happened?”

“The creatures have returned,” he said out of breath.

“Have you seen Roland?”

Little John nodded. “He was playing with some of the returned children. Tuck was watching them when I left.”

Robin pulled out his bow as he went in search of the Friar. He found his man franticly trying to round up the children. The large man had little subtlety, but did possess a large voice. He was gamely trying to herd them deeper into the wood, but Robin did not see his son. “Tuck! Where’s Roland?”

Tuck looked about in surprise. “He was…he was right here.”

Robin didn’t wait for the excuses sure to follow. He plunged into the undergrowth calling for his son.

A plaintive, “Papa?” reached his ears and he broke into a run. He burst onto the road shouting Roland’s name, his throat constricted, only to stop in horror at the scene in front of him. Roland was there. His son was standing directly in front of one of the witch’s beasts. The monkey was more than twice Roland’s size but was crouched down reaching for the boy. It made a chittering noise as it glanced up at Robin. He had no shot and he knew it. He could wing the creature, to be sure, but such a shot would not kill it and it could easily retaliate against the little boy standing there. Roland seemed petrified by the monster and a horrible certainty that he was about to watch his son taken by the thing gripped Robin.

Without warning both boy and monkey were enveloped by a thick purple cloud. Robin shouted his son’s name again. He thought he saw a flash of something dark and swirling in the smoke, but when it cleared Roland was gone. The monkey stood alone. Robin spun on the spot in confusion. The creature too was momentarily perplexed, but in the next instant howled in anger at the loss of it’s prey. Robin spun back as the flying beast barreled at him.

He managed to draw, but the thing had already closed the distance between them. He had not expected it to be so fast. It knocked his bow aside, and drove him to the ground. It’s breath was foul as it screeched in his face. Robin tried to throw it off, but it seemed to weigh as much as Little John. It reared back, one of it’s wicked looking claws intent on opening his jugular, when it screamed again, this time in frustration.

Vines had sprung from the ground. Wrapping swiftly around the things limbs. They lifted the struggling monkey off of Robin and he scrambled backwards. The vines lifted the creature higher and pulled tight. The creature’s screeches pitched higher in pain.

“You’re not getting away from me this time.”

Robin twisted around to see the Queen standing in the center of the road a few meters behind him, her hands raised as she directed the grasping roots. Anger hardened her face, but in the very next instant it had begun to soften. She glanced down at something behind her and when she looked back up the anger was gone, replaced by concentration. With one hand still directing the vines she reached back with the other before appearing to throw something towards the creature. The monster screeched as it was again engulfed in purple smoke. When it dissipated the vines were gone and an innocuous ball of grey fluff fell unmoving at his feet.

Robin was stunned for another moment and then he moved quickly to his feet, turning to the Queen, “My son. Is he alright?”

A small hand reached around Regina’s dark skirts, clutching at her dress tightly, followed by a head covered in dark curls. “Papa!” The boy cried, splitting from his rescuer. He ran as fast as his short legs would carry him, directly into his father’s arms. Robin picked him up. His hug tight with relief. “Ouch, Papa!”

“I’m sorry, my boy.” Robin looked up as the Queen walked past him to pick up the remains of the creature. He did a double take when he realized that she was holding a doll made in the shape of the winged monkey. Regina stood up and handed it to Roland with a gentle smile.

“There. Nothing to be afraid of anymore.”

The boy accepted the gift, his face awash in wonder. “Papa, is she a princess?” he whispered.

“No, Roland. She is the Queen.”

At this information Roland’s eyes grew wider.

Robin couldn’t contain his gratitude, “Thank you. It seems that once again, I owe you everything, Your Majesty.”

Regina tore her eyes from Roland the smile fading from her face, as she shifted uncomfortably under Robin’s gaze. “I’ve told you. I’m not interested in collecting debts.”

He let out a short laugh and shook his head. “You have my gratitude, regardless.”

She frowned in frustration. “You should get him out of the open,” she said pointedly.

Robin nodded, a smile still on his face, and walked across the road to the woods. Roland gasped with delight and his father turned back to see. The queen had vanished.


End file.
